Hyper-Adapter

The Hyper-Adapter (Also known as Barbatos) was the last weapon Darkseid used in the DC comics.

After Batman mortally wounded the Dark One, he sent the Caped Crusader back in time with his Omega Sanction. Darkseid then released the Hyper-Adapter from his Ancestor Box, allowing it to travel across time and torment Batman.

Contents

Biography

The following information is from the perspective of other characters and should not be considered chronological order:

Stone Age

The Hyper-Adapter appears as a giant bat and is killed by the stone-age version of Vandal Savage. It's skin is kept as a trophy, which would then be worn as a costume by Batman himself.

Puritan Age

Bruce Wayne, having just arrived in the 1600s, is immediately ambushed by the Hyper-Adapter in its tentacled form. He manages to cut off several tentacles, discouraging the beast and lays low for a while. Apparently, the Hyper-Adapter had arrived in this century before Bruce, as the local villagers refer to it as The Dragon.

1700s

The Hyper-Adapter and Thomas Wayne

The Hyper-Adapter (In bat-form) appears before a group of Satanists (among whom are several prominent Founding Fathers), who all immediately panic and flee, leaving Thomas Wayne, who assumes it to be the demon Barbatos. He asks it to bestow upon him the gift of immortality, which it apparently does (the exact details are unknown, but Thomas was seen eating the flesh of a bat, which may have had something to do with it).

The Old West

Thomas Wayne, now living beyond the mortal coil, teamed up with Vandal Savage to discover the secrets of the Bat-tribe that had been established in the memory of the Caped Crusader. When Batman arrives in this century, his ancestor is trying to rediscover the secrets of Barbatos, which apparently the Van Derm family (Bruce Wayne's maternal ancestors) possess. The two hire Jonah Hex to take out Batman, only to be ambushed by the detective's superior fighting skills.

20th Century

Shortly after the infamous murder of the Wayne Family, 18th century Thomas Wayne - now Dr. Hurt - has dedicated his life to defiling his family's good name, believing that the ruin of a noble spirit will revive the demon once more. Sure enough, Bruce Wayne arrives in this time and is drugged and set aflame by Hurt's cult. At that moment, the Hyper-Adapter catches up to Bruce just as he is propelled forward in time.

21st Century

Batman reaches the end of his journey, but is possessed by the Hyper-Adapter, which uses him to attack his

The Hyper-Adapter bonding with Batman

fellow superheroes. When Tim Drake reasons with Bruce, it gives him the will to fight back. Despite the agonising pain it causes him, Bruce is able to separate the creature from himself, which Superman and the Green Lantern then seal inside a time machine. The Hyper-Adapter, having fed on Bruce's memories, assumes the form of a giant bat and is scattered across time. At one point, Dick Grayson encounters the beast.

Trivia

The image of a giant bat-demon has become a recurring symbol across the Batman mythos. Just like Thomas Wayne, several Batman antagonists have had this specific vision, most notably Bane and Ra's Al Ghul

A deleted scene from Batman Forever shows a scene where Bruce Wayne confronts the bat from his nightmares, revealing it to be even bigger than himself. Afterwords, Bruce proudly proclaims "I'm Batman", implying that the creature had some supernatural influence over him.